“There is a changing landscape in wine. We need to be aware of changing consumer needs now more than ever before. There are challenges for us. Younger consumers are not pouring into wine. Younger people are already moderating their drinking, older consumers are starting to and plan to increase their moderation. We have the evidence, largely based on our WinePRO research. We need to understand what the solutions are. Whilst we are faced with these challenges, there are plenty of opportunities for us as well

Neil Anderson, Marketing Director 

Kingsland WinePRO Food & Drink Occasions research was carried out exclusively with Kantar (World Panel) Jan 2017.

The WinePRO Health & Formats research was carried out exclusively with YouGov October 2017 (2 stages.  1st Qual groups, 5 groups split between London & Manchester late August 2017.  2nd: Quant – 527 people early October 2017)

The 8 Key trend areas are as follows:

1)      Healthier Options Please – relevant, engaging, products will increase.   Consumers are definitely moderating.   22% of consumers in our research are seriously planning on moderating/reducing  their  alcohol intake over the next 12 months.  However, they are very clear on what they are seeking as we discovered in our Kingsland WinePRO Health Research with YouGov.  There are key differences between the younger & older (over 40+) generations.   For example, younger consumers are much keener to understand more about sulphites, being organic, less sugar etc vs the older consumers.

2)      The Relevance of Different Formats – different formats can work for different & varying occasions.  We have so many different formats hitting the shelves, but how relevant are some of them and are they really addressing the needs of consumers.  For example, 25cl has considerably more appeal & attractiveness vs 187ml, however it is pretty much the 187ml that retailers/suppliers have driven.  Meal for one (no. 4 trend identified), a third of consumers in the research found 25cl ideal for them.  Everyone is talking about cans, but whilst cans can work for certain occasions, they had very limited appeal when it came to wine.

3)      A Bit more Premium – consumers, younger as well, are wanting to spend their hard earned £ well.  There is growing evidence that consumers are prepared to pay more for a better product/serve.  But this is not about super-premiumisation, its just about understanding how if you have a compelling product, consumers are prepared to pay a little more – both when going out (if fewer times /but better) and also at home  -“I am worth it” and “Cooking for friends & family”.

4)      Meal for One – A combination of an increase in single individuals, single parent households & eating alone becoming more socially acceptable in/out of home, products & promotions will increase in gearing up to these occasions.  WinePRO identified 196 million more food & drink occasions vs 4 years ago.  Two or more are declining.

 5)      Snacking with Wine – Our Kingsland WinePRO  research into “wine with food occasions”, why ?  Because 84% of all wine occasions involve food and not very much is known beyond that.  That was until we carried out our WinePRO research into Food & Wine occasions.  The biggest trend ?  There are 172 million more evening snack occasions vs 4 years ago.  Snacking now makes up 24% of all wine occasions

6)      Tell me a Unique Story – We have seen a significant shift in consumers craving authenticity. They want to engage in the story. This is not just about dialling up heritage or your provenance, its about how do you convey your own story in ideally a unique & engaging way for consumers.  Ideally, they want the truth! Real stories about real people, situations etc are what most consumers seek to be craving…but remember, make it relevant to the consumer or it just becomes “old boring world of wine wall paper”.  Boring wall paper that is!

7)      Refresh me! – How is it that gin & other BWS products & categories does refreshment better than wine.  A “refreshing taste” delivery is what many consumers told us that are seeking in wine, but you would struggle to see that come across on shelf.  I believe this is an area where we may see “refreshing cues” & varietals that deliver this increase.  Also room for Innovation me thinks!


8)      More Worldly – WinePRO research on food occasions identified significant opportunity for matching wines with the growing new cuisines from around the world (e.g Pan Asian/Caribbean, S American).  I would expect to see an increase focus on this from a retailer merchandising, linked promotions, but also an increase in innovation/NPD from wine suppliers to better dial up these sort of food pairings.